TASTE: FOOD and WINE NEWS

Cleveland dining news, reviews, recipes and more

What's for dinner? Mom's Chicken Cacciatore, Grilled Southwestern Pasta Salad and more

by Merlene Santiago

Monday October 06, 2008, 12:07 PM

Monday

Quinoa and Smoked Tofu Salad

Makes 6 servings

2 cups water
3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
1 cup quinoa, rinsed well*
1/4 cup lemon juice
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 small cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
One 6- or 8-ounce package baked smoked tofu, diced**
1 small yellow bell pepper, diced
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
1 cup diced cucumber
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/2 cup chopped fresh mint

Bring water and 1/2 teaspoon salt to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add quinoa and return to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook until the water has been absorbed, 15 to 20 minutes. Spread the quinoa on a baking sheet to cool for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk lemon juice, oil, garlic, the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper in a large bowl. Add the cooled quinoa, tofu, bell pepper, tomatoes, cucumber, parsley and mint; toss well to combine

*Quinoa is a delicately flavored, protein-rich grain. Rinsing removes any residue of saponin, quinoa's natural, bitter protective covering. Find it in natural foods stores and the natural foods sections of many supermarkets.

**Precooked "baked tofu" is firmer than water-packed tofu and comes in a wide variety of flavors. You might also like flavored baked tofu on a sandwich or in a stir-fry.

Source: "EatingWell for a Healthy Heart Cookbook" by Philip A. Ades.

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What's for dinner?

by Merlene Santiago

Thursday October 02, 2008, 9:42 AM

Monday
Skillet American Chop Suey
Makes 4 servings

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 pound 90 percent lean ground beef
1 onion, minced
1 red bell pepper, cored and chopped medium
1 celery rib, chopped medium
Salt and ground black pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
One (14.5-ounce] can diced tomatoes
One (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
8 ounces elbow macaroni (about 2 cups)

Before cooking, mince the onion. While the beef cooks, chop the bell pepper and celery. While the vegetables cook, mince the garlic.

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add beef and cook, breaking it into pieces with wooden spoon, until no longer pink, about 3 minutes. Transfer to bowl and set aside.

Add remaining tablespoon oil to skillet and return to medium-high heat until shimmering. Add onion, bell pepper, celery and 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook until vegetables begin to soften, about 4 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Stir in tomatoes, tomato sauce, chicken broth, macaroni, and browned beef. Cover and cook, stirring often and adjusting heat as needed to maintain vigorous simmer, until macaroni is tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve.
Source: "The Vegetarian Cook's Bible" by Pat Crocker.

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Loretta Paganini recipe of the week: Rosemary Focaccia

by Joe Crea/Food and Restaurants Editor

Wednesday October 01, 2008, 11:05 AM

Each Wednesday at 10 a.m., Loretta Paganini of the International Culinary Arts and Sciences Institute in Chester Township presents an easy recipe on WKYC-TV's "Good Company" show. The program airs at 10 a.m. Monday through Friday. Here is today's dish:

Rosemary Focaccia
Makes 2 loaves

1 cup warm water (95-110 degrees)
2 packages dry yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
3 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary
1/8 teaspoon hot red pepper

Place warm water in food processor, stir in yeast and sugar. Cover. Let it proof for 10 minutes in a warm spot.

Add 1 cup of flour and salt in the food processor and 1/4 cup of oil. Give four or five turns with on/off button.

Add remaining flour, rosemary and hot pepper. Work the dough in the processor until smooth and elastic. (Add flour or water as needed.)

Let dough rise until double in the sealed food processor bowl. Punch down and divide in half. Oil two cake pans and place dough in each pan.

Make markings in the dough with a fork. Allow dough to rise. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake for 30 minutes until light golden in color.

Mark Fuerst shuts 5 restaurants, planning to sell properties: Joe Crea's Restaurant Row

by Joe Crea/Plain Dealer Food and Restaurants Editor

Wednesday October 01, 2008, 8:03 AM

Five food businesses went out of business suddenly on Sunday night. The historic Sawyer House and the nearby Rock City Bar & Grille, both in Mentor, and the Inn at Fowler's Mill, Bronco Billy's (formerly the Brown Barn) and Arabica Coffee House, all in Chardon, have been shuttered.

"I'm tired," said Mark Fuerst, owner of all the restaurants. He says he's also given 90 days notice to terminate his association with Lake Metroparks Farmpark, where his firm runs the Sawyer House Cafe (he expects that location to remain open under another operator). "It became a job. I said it's time to go -- time to sell my properties and enjoy my life. I've been doing this for 20 years."

Fuerst's decision to close leaves about 125 employees seeking new work.

"I guess they go find jobs," Fuerst said. "On Sunday we had a nice meeting with everybody, told them that was it. I lost my father at 14, and I remember him always telling me, 'When you get your paycheck at the end of the week, you and your boss are even.' Everybody is coming in, getting their paychecks. There's money in the bank to cover them. We're even."

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How to host an Oktoberfest celebration at home

by Joe Crea / The Plain Dealer

Wednesday October 01, 2008, 1:00 AM

Roll out the barrels! Autumn, the season for Oktoberfest, is in full swing.

Although taverns, restaurants and clubs are holding events and promotionals, an Oktoberfest at home is a great theme for a casual party. Transform your rec room into a rathskellar or clear your deck or patio and turn it into a biergarten. Make it as simple or as elaborate as you like.

Kris Krieger, chef-owner of Chef's Choice Meats in Berea, operates a fine meat market and specialty foods shop with an emphasis on German heritage products. Krieger lived in Heidelberg, Germany, for three years while studying economics and literature at Universitat Heidelberg from 1983 to 1986. Oktoberfests in Munich are among his happiest memories, he said.

"Of course, there was a lot of drinking. And schweinshaxe -- pork picnics, shanks attached, skin-on -- roasting on spits. And sausages, just laid out on the grills -- thuringer, like a fermented bratwurst with a tang. And red sausages, oversized franks but not stubby like knockwurst. And of course brats, and blutwurst, smoked blood sausages," Krieger said. "You didn't really see much kraut. There, you'd stand in lines to get a sausage on a plate with a little roll on the side -- brotchen, meaning 'little breads.'¤"

Fond memories intact, Krieger offered to help firm up the plans for an Oktoberfest at home. Sitting outside the back kitchen of his Berea compound on a break, sipping an imported pilsner, he rattled off components of his ideal plate.

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In English or German, it's time for Oktoberfest

by Scott Stephens/Plain Dealer Reporter

Tuesday September 30, 2008, 9:10 PM

Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria may have been the original wedding planner. When plotting his nuptials to Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen in October 1810, the good prince had the good sense to commission a special beer for the occasion. He turned to Joseph Pschorr, then the brewmaster of the Hacker-Pschorr Brewery, to develop a new style of beer to commemorate the blessed event. Pschorr, it could be said, hit a home run. The brew he came up with was so delicious that the wedding party lasted for 16 days. Oktoberfest beer was born, and subsequent annual celebrations evolved into the city of Munich's world-famous Oktoberfest that is attended by over 6 million people each year. Continue reading "In English or German, it's time for Oktoberfest" »

In search of classic Hough recipes in 'Readers Ask ...'

by Brenda Junkin/Plain Dealer Reporter

Tuesday September 30, 2008, 9:06 PM

Like many Clevelanders, I sorely miss my favorite Hough Bakery products. Several years ago, some of the Hough recipes were published. I have the mushroom pie recipe (and it is great!). Can you find more? I'd love the chocolate cupcakes with fudge frosting recipe, or the hot-cross buns, modernistic cookies, the basic white bread and, of course, the white birthday cake frosting. I do have a few Hough recipes from 1991. In good faith, I'll give you Hough's mushroom pie recipe. -- Joan Hudson, Chagrin Falls

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